9 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Gwen Stacy

4. The Real Reasoning For Gwen's Death

Gwen Stacy Sad
Marvel Comics

Killed off for being too perfect for Peter Parker...?

According to the legendary John Romita Sr., he and writer Gerry Conway were originally told that Aunt May would be being killed off back in 1973. Both Romita and Conway thought this was a bad a idea, and thus the conversation moved over to killing either Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane Watson.

At this point, MJ was yet to become a love interest of Peter's, and instead she was more of a feisty, humourous character. Due to that, it was decided that Gwen might be a better fit to be axed.

In a narrative sense, it was decided that Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy were too perfect for each other. Even though they'd had their falling out following the death of Captain Stacy, Marvel felt that Peter and Gwen were so great together than it was inevitable that they'd marry - and the powers-that-be didn't want Spider-Man to be tied down by marriage or to reveal his secret identity to Stacy.

Stan Lee, who later admitted to not thinking clearly about the idea and being upset at the realisation of what had happened, gave the okay to kill Gwen. Also taken into account was the sad truth that Spider-Man was a character at that point in time who so often thrived in adversity and tragedy.

Skip ahead a few decades, and it was no real surprise to see Peter and Mary Jane's wedding erased from history in the god-awful One More Day arc.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

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